Thursday, June 29, 2017

Gov. Edwards to Louisiana Senators: Louisiana Uniquely Harmed by BCRA

In the seven years since the Affordable Care Act was passed,
more than 575,000 Louisianans have gained health care coverage. This includes
more than 433,000 newly covered adults who are enrolled in Medicaid in the past
12 months, and another 143,000 plus people who have gained private health
coverage through the ACA exchange, or the Marketplace.

This gain in enrollment has caused Louisiana’s uninsured
rate to drop from 21.7 percent in 2013, to 12.5 percent in January of this
year. This is one of the largest reductions in the uninsured rate for any
state. Furthermore, when this report is updated to include new Medicaid
enrollees who got coverage from January 2017 to today, our uninsured rate will
drop even further.

When look at how those who are newly covered under Medicaid
expansion in our state fare, you can easily see that these individuals are
taking advantage of primary and preventive care, getting screened to diagnose
cancer and other chronic diseases, and getting early, life-saving care. You can
view the statistics at www.ldh.la.gov/healthyladashboard.

Gov. John Bel Edwards recently sent a letter to the U.S.
Senators from Louisiana, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, urging them to oppose
the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). In the letter, Gov. Edwards outlines
how the bill will result in loss of coverage for millions of Americans,
punishes Louisiana for running a lean Medicaid program, and effectively
eliminates our state’s Medicaid expansion resulting in hundreds of thousands of
Louisianans losing lifesaving primary care access.